Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1887-09-09
More About Ensilage
John Gould. in the Rural New York

John Gould in the Rural New Yorker.
The latest with ensilage is to cut the
entire corn crop, stalks, ears and all, into
the silo. Some persons are doubtful
about the .digestibility of the kernels.
The kernel of the corn will be wholly oil
gested by the cattle, as it does not dry
out, nor does it lose its milky character,
which gives 1t succulence for rapid and
easy digestion and assimilation. Last
wlnt6r l saw samples of corn taken from
silos that it was hard to believe had been
''cut in" for over five months, so white
and "nilky" did they appear, and it was
difficult to detect by the taste that they
were acid to more than a slight degree.
For the past three winters l have made
this point one of especial inquiry and in
vestigation, and in every instance have
verified that there is not visible trace of
the corn in the weddings. While l was in
Sheboygan Falls, Wis, in March last, Mr..
Iceland was feeding silage made from
large variety of sweet corn, heavily cared,
and it was most satisfactory to him.
Inc condition of the ears will vary some
what in appearance in different layers of
the silage and in different silos. In some
cases they change very little in appear
ance, keeping for months their white
look and milky character. In osher
samples they will shrink somewhat and
the kernels become somewhat Drowned,
but to all appearances sound and hearty
food.
The silo presents this problem for the
farmers to solve, saving of the hard
work of husking and grinding corn, cost
ing fully one-fourth of the grain value of
the crop. When all this labor and ex-
a.
Put the meal made from the corn back
upon the stalks from which it has been
separated; and has aray gain been made?
If wa are to go on as we have-husking
and grinding We not best call halt,
If we still insist that the silo doesn't pay
and feed the corn fodder, unhusked, to
our stock, and let the pigs run behind the
cattle, and give our feeding a Western
turn.
Every one whom have seen that has
tried this plan of putting even the fold
corn into tho silo, has fully Endorsed the
idea that the grain thus fed is increased
in feeding value ovsr the dry meal sys-
tenn, quite as much as good silage is bet
ter than dry corn fodder. l am getting
my belief confirmed almost daily that the
silage of the future will be a compromise
between field corn and fodder corn-that
we will drill in about 8 or 10 quarts of
our best varieties of northern corn per
acre, instead of the southern white corn,
and will put it into the silos unhusked,
not swapping the ears. That great
amount OF grain can be secured, as well
as large growth of stalks, is evident
from this years accident. The southern
corn sert herr. was poor, and only about
twothirds of it grew, but the balance
about eight quarts per acre on my fields
is now putting out q wonderful growth
of ears, while the amount of foliage ia not
much behind that in former years. Last
year several of my neighbors mixed loads
of field corn with the regular ensilage
fodder alternating them in proper pro-
portion and the result was so satisfactory
that the experiment will be repeated this
season. In cutting fodder into inch
lengths, l am now convib ced that the
clean cut is the best, and that splitting
or shredding the stalks or ears is not the
better way. The clean cut leaves the
husk about the pieces of ears and seems
to protect them, and keeps the grain
brighter and plumper than when Invested
of their jackets.